Rubber toothbrush



W. J. EGGERS.

RUBBER TOOTHBRUSH. APPLICATIONJIL'ED AUG. 10, 1916.

- Patented J an 13, 1920.

2 SHEETS SHEET l- W. J. EGGERS.

RUBBER TOOTHBRUSH.

APPLICATION men Ammo. ms.

Patehtedhan. 13, 1920.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A ttst: 4

Inventor To all whom cit may concern:

ILLIAM J. Eeenas, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

RI IBBER TOOTHIBRUSH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 13, 1920.

Application filed August 10, 1916. Serial No. 114,102.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, in the city of New York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rubber Toothbrushes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formin a part hereof.

his invention relates to tooth brushes in which the bristles are made of. rubber molded integral with or vulcanized to a reinforced flexible rubber handle. The invention is concerned with the improvement 'of brushes of this general character by the molding of the handle about the flexible metallic-stiffening plate, independently of l the molded bristles and then vulcanizing the brush portion pro er with the handle section thereby reducin i the' cost of manufacture, insuring the bristles throughout, and providing for per-v manent integrality as between the handle and the brush portion, as is necessary. Still a further object of the invention is to pro- .vide a rubber brush in which the bristles may be of such character as to insure a more thorough cleansing of the teeth and gums than has been heretofore obtained by bristles of any other character, including rubber bristles as now known. In accordance with the this object of the invention the bristles are molded with vacuum cups at their free ends in order to increase the intimacy of the engagement of the bristles with the teeth and s andefl'ect what may be termed a pluc ing action which has been found most effective in'removing foreign particles, bacteri'ajetc'. and massaging the gums. In a modified form of the invention all of. the

general features pointed out briefly above are retained and, inaddition, other desirable structural details are included. In

this modified form the stiffening plate in the molded handle is formed as a hollow tubev .which may be connected at its' outer end to a. source of a suitable dentifrice and com.-

municates at its inner end with ducts or channels molded either'in the rubber bristles J Eecnns, 1

ormation of uniform well known.

or in the body of the brush adjacent the base of the bristles so that the dentifrice may be led tothe desired point of application. It

. will appear in the detailed description hereinafter that the improved brush is of such character that .the bristles may be of any form depending upon the shape of the mold.- In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows a tooth brush of improved construction in which the bristles are molded with vacuum cups.

,Fig. 2 is a view in'section through the brush shown in Fig. 1 taken along the plane indicated by the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view through one of the bristles in the brush shown in Figs. 1 and 2. v j Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views showing other formsof bristles. I

Fig. 6 is a view in longitudinal section and shows a tooth brush of somewhat modifled formin which the stiffening plate is formed as a hollow tube to conductdentifrice to the bristles, the section-being taken along the plane indicated by'the line 6 -6 of F1g. 7.

Fig. 7 is 'a'plan view of the brush shown in Fig. 6. Y

Fig. 8 is a view in transverse section taken through the brush shown in Fig.7, along the planeindicated by the line 88. Fig. ,9 is a sectional "ow through the handle of the brush shown in Fig 7 taken. alon the plane indicated by the line 9-9 and Iooking in the direction of the arrows.

V Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view of a brush constructed on the principle of the brush shown in Fig. 6 but with the liquid channels molded at the base of the bristles.

The improved brush is .formed of two separate portions, to-wit, the handle portion a andthe brush portion 1;, each of which is molded as an integral .unit and then united with the other by vulcanizing in a manner The handle a is formed-of rubber moldedabout a longitudinally'extended flexible. metallic stiflenin-g strip a" which may be completely embeddedintho 1 rubber and aflford the 1 required degree of.

stiffness thereto while permitting sufficient.

flexibility during use of the brush to elfect the most advantageous cleansing and massaging action. The brush portion 6 is so molded as to comprise a series of bristles. b, each-integral with a longitudinally extending rubber base 12 whereby the brush portion itself when removed from the mold consists of a single unit. In molding the bristles b, of course, each cell in the mold will be of such form as to give the desired shape and dimensions to each bristle. One of the im ortant features of the present invention resides in the formation of a brush portion. with bristles of such form as to insure a more perfect cleansing and'massaging action thereof than has been heretofore obtained withbristles of any character and of any material. In Fig. 3, the shape of the improved bristle b is shown, the dimensions of the bristles being such as to permit a vacuum cup or recess 6 to be molded in its end. Each of the bristles ofthe brush portion I) is molded in the same way with a vacuum cup 6 and all of these bristles are 7 'so related to one another as to efl'ect a conparticles, bacteria, etc., .are most thoroughly tinuous cleansing and 'massaging action when the brush is in use. It has been found that these cups I) tend to stick to the teeth and gums with the result that all foreign agitated and picked up by the engagement 0 the bristles and a sort of plucking action of the bristles on both the teeth andthe fat gums is constantly maintained. The massaging action is of the best possible character for while'the bristles are soft and yield-.

ing, there is suflicient grip between them and the gums by reason of the vacuum cups b to increase greatl the massaging action which would be 0 tained were these cups not present.

After molding the brush portion b inwhich it was attempted to mold the entire brush in a s' le integral piece of rubber. By the detail views of Figs. 4: and 5,-it is sought to show that the improved brush shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may bemolded of two separate pieces in the manner described and the bristles B, B made integral with a suitable rubber base B B in. ex'actl the manner described, but with the brist es of different forms and dimensions from those shown Fig. 3, without departing from the spirit of the invention. The bristle B shown in Fig. 4 is substantially cylindricalexcept for its pointed'end B which obviously may be most advantageous for use under some conditions. This point B is such that it will pass readily between the teeth and engage the gums and" thereby efiect the desired cleansing and massaging action. As shown.

each bristle B is molded integral with the base piece B and with the point In Fig. 5 the bristles B", instead of being made cylindrical, are tapered throughout their length,'converging. to a single edge which may pass between the teeth and engage the gums in much the same way described with relation to thepoint B in the bristle shown inFig.4. a a

The brush shown iii-.FigS. 69 is constructed in the -manner hereinbefore de-.

scribed and embodies all the features and advantages pointed out. This brush, in addition, is provided with certain structural details which may be useful under some conditions and will commend itself particularly to dentists. The rubber handle A. of the brush is molded about a tubular piece 0 which terminates at the outer end of'the handle and may have placedin communication therewith a flexible tube dcommunicating with any available source-of dentifrice or ozone, etc. For convenience in attaching this tube, the end of the ha'ndle'A may be molded with a circular boss A to receive the lip of the tube. The inner end of the tube C communicates .With a series of ducts or channels C molded directly in the rubber bristles e, the ends of which may be provided with cups e' as described in connection with the foregoing embodiments; In use, the. brush has the tube (I attached to it and is passed over the teeth and gums with the massa eifect hereinbefore described, the dentifrlce or ozone or the like being discharged at the same time over the gums and teeth through the passa es C. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, the

tube C communicates with channels or ducts C molded in the bod base of the bristles l which are formed solid throughout and are of any'desired shape and dimensions. In using the brush shown in Fig. 10, the dentifrice or the like passes through the channels C .and'is led therefrom along the' bristles E to the mouth or to the portion of the teeth or gums with which the brush is in contact.

The advantages of the improved brush have been pointed out fullyherein and in considering these advantages it is necessary. to take into account the peculiar manner in which the integral brush is formed as a new article of manufacture, and also the advantages inuse which have been provided of the brush at. the I Y 5 v A rubber tooth brush comprising an intethrough the molding of the bristles in the forms described,' particularly that form shown in Figs. 1 and 2. a

I claim as my invention:

municating with the channels therein.

gral rubber handle, a unitary brush portion formed of bristles of rubber molded integral August, 1919. with a base vulcanized to the handle, part -WILLIAM J. EGGERS of said bristles being provided with channels extending through the base, a hollow metallic stiffening piece embedded in the handle extending beneath the base and com- This specification signed this 8th day of 

